Background
The prevalence of nutrition related diseases is still increasing in Germany and even among children and adolescents obesity has become a main health problem. Additionally several recent food safety problems have underlined the necessity of a highly qualifying education in the field of consumer protection, health and nutrition.

Aim
To analyse extensively:

The organisation and curricula of nutrition-related education in primary and secondary schools in all 16 German states; the qualification and attitudes of teachers; the postgraduate training of the teachers; the equipment and the prerequisites of schools as well as the scientific and didactic quality of schoolbooks.

Methods
Analysis and comparison of the different curricula in general knowledge, biology, home economics or nutrition from 16 states; analysis of 476 schoolbooks; a country-wide questionnaire-based survey (901 teachers and 301 principals).

Results
The analysis of the curricula reveals large insufficiencies in nutrition and health education. A continual education in the field of nutrition is not ensured. Nutrition education is often organized in the range of optional subjects and competes with other interesting subjects. Therefore today only a small number of pupils participate in nutrition education. In 25 % of the schools of the study sample more than 50 % of nutrition education is given by teachers with no background in nutrition. Cooking practice suffers from innovative school-kitchens. Schoolbooks often show substantial mistakes and transmit popular nutrition errors.

Conclusions
Nutrition education has to be reorganized in Germany. The traditional subject home-economics is unpopular among students and teachers. An innovation to a new subject "Nutrition and Consumer Education" is demanded. Interdisciplinary core curricula in nutrition education - embedded in a health curriculum - have to be developed and adapted to main health, nutrition and consumer problems.